Her World, Her Way

A first-time exhibit by a little known Pyle—Howard's sister-in-law—opens at the Delaware Art Museum. Plus, "Oliver" goes to the beach, Wyoming plans a peachy party and a summer music series continues on the Riverfront.

by Maria Hess

Published: 07.14.2009

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Illustrator Howard Pyle didn’t teach amateurs. His students had to demonstrate real talent before they were admitted to his Chadds Ford summer school, and few were female. But Ellen Bernard Thompson cracked the gender barrier and, after Pyle’s death, achieved success as a cover artist for The Saturday Evening Post. Thompson became known as Ellen Pyle after marrying Howard’s brother, Walter. The Pyle name helped her, but Ellen’s talent existed long before the honeymoon. Using her three daughters as models, “She created her own particular type of realism in her images of domesticity, sport, fashion and romance,” says curator Mary F. Holahan, who oversees “Illustrating Her World: Ellen B.T. Pyle,” an exhibit that opens at the Delaware Art Museum on August 1. Howard Pyle, of course, was a major force in illustration. His sister-in-law never got her due until now. The exhibit marks the world’s first overview of Ellen Pyle’s career. For more, call 571-9590 or visit delart.org. —Maria Hess